'Revenge' video preview

The most enjoyable thing about the first few episodes of ABC’s Revenge is seeing how the show has twisted the basic nighttime soap opera set-up — “Rich people doing bad things” — to adjust to our anxious economic moment. Shows like Gossip Girl, The OC, and Dynasty are all about people being seduced by, and squabbling over, the world of the wealthy. Revenge, conversely, is all about burning the big house down. The morally ambiguous protagonist, Emily Thorne (Emily VanCamp), has arrived in the Hamptons as an avenging angel, looking to punish a whole galaxy of wealthy types — adulterous socialites, horndog senators, shady bankers — for their past sins.

In this exclusive clip from ABC, you can get caught up on the action — and also get a taste of what’s to come. (Suffice it to say: The only certainties in Revenge are death, sex, and tax cuts.) Watch the video.